The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch has been unveiled by the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Created to bring “Japanese people together around messages of support, acceptance and encouragement of one another, while also reflecting the Olympic flame’s ability to promote peace and hope to the world”, the official slogan of the Tokyo 2020’s Olympic Torch Relay is “Hope lights our way”.
“The Olympic flame is often associated with a message of peace and hope, as it is carried around the host nation, and as such has become one of the most powerful symbols of the Olympic movement,” said the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic. “In 2020, the Olympic flame will not only symbolise the sunrise of a new era spreading the hope that will light our way, but will also serve to spread the joy and passion of the Japanese around the Olympic movement as the Games approach.”
Featuring five flower petal cylinders that each generate flames, the Olympic Torch is made of the same aluminum extrusion technology used for Japanese bullet trains. Aluminum waste from the temporary housing built in the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami is also incorporated.
“I designed the TOKYO 2020 Olympic Torch in the wishes for peace and healing of hearts in recovering area,” said Tokujin. “The design began after I drew cherry blossom emblems with children in recovering area. The cherry blossoms they drew were all vibrant as if it symbolizes a scene where people are overcoming and restarting from the disaster. I aimed to convey their power to the world through my design.”
“What I designed is not merely the form of the TOKYO 2020 Olympic Torch, but the form of flame itself,” explained Tokujin. “The five flames surrounded by the petals become one Olympic flame to give hope to all the people in the world to live in peace.”
“In 2020, the Olympic flame will traverse throughout Japan like cherry blossoms blooming, and lights our way to hope.”
To learn more about the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay, click the link below.
